Traditional media is going through soul-changing times, and a recent “Meet the Media” event sponsored by the State House News Service provided a sense of the evolving landscape of local journalism.

The event brought together newsroom leaders, representing hyperlocal weeklies, radio stations, Boston-based online publications, and bilingual community outlets, to explore questions facing journalism today: How can we use emerging technologies like AI responsibly? And, perhaps most critically, how does the media win the minds—and eyes—of the next generation of news consumers?

1. Local TV Must Go Beyond the Broadcast

Mike Beaudet, an investigative reporter at Boston’s Channel 5 and journalism professor, kicked off the session by confronting a hard truth: “Even the top stations are losing audience on air. The growth is on digital.”

For decades, local TV stations resisted going all-in on digital, worried that online clips would cannibalize their broadcast. But that mindset is changing fast. Beaudet emphasized that simply uploading TV segments online isn’t enough—digital video needs to be created natively for platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. This means vertical formats, social-first storytelling, and hiring younger journalists who understand digital fluency.

The future? Stations need to prioritize digital content even if it doesn’t yet pay like traditional TV—because that’s where the audience already is.

2. Filling the Local News Void in Cambridge

Niko Emack, board member of Cambridge Day (https://www.cambridgeday.com/), highlighted the erosion of local reporting in what many consider one of America’s intellectual capitals. Despite Cambridge’s dense population and political importance, most local news outlets have shuttered or downsized, leaving a vacuum.

“The Harvard Crimson and Tufts Daily have stepped up,” he said, “but Cambridge is not immune to the trust issues and disconnection affecting local news everywhere.”

Emack sees Cambridge Day’s transformation into a nonprofit as a path to not just better reporting, but rebuilding community trust. The challenge is connecting with residents willing to support a mission—even if they’re only used to consuming news for free.

3. Newspaper Wars in Marblehead

Leigh Blander, co-founder and editor of The Marblehead Current (https://www.cambridgeday.com/) described how her paper was born out of necessity—and noodles. After Gannett shut down The Marblehead Reporter, which had devolved into a regional paper that had lost site of its local community, several veteran journalists met in a Chinese restaurant and decided to start their own publication.

They launched online and quickly faced competition from two other outlets, including a weekly from a local media group and a hyperlocal blog. What set The Current apart? Professionalism.

“We’re in 12 meetings a week. People know us. They trust us. We’ve become the paper of record,” Blander said. The paper, now both online and in print, relies on a mix of local advertising, community donations, and the hard work of a small team committed to deep reporting and community presence.

4. El Mundo’s Social Impact Model

Alberto Vasallo III, president and CEO of El Mundo Boston, has turned his 53-year-old Spanish-language publication into a multimedia powerhouse and cultural cornerstone.

While many outlets chase scale, Vasallo focuses on relationships and cultural relevance. His team runs a daily livestream morning show, five major annual events, and publishes content across digital and print formats. “We’ll be the last paper standing,” he joked.

But behind the humor is a serious mission: “We’re a good-news publication. We highlight the positive in the Latino community, because misinformation spreads faster than the truth.” With a growing, often newly arrived Spanish-speaking population, El Mundo has positioned itself as a trusted, central voice—one that advertisers support not just for reach, but for impact.

5. Radio Isn’t Dead—It’s Hybrid

Tim Coco, founder of nonprofit radio station WHAV in Haverhill, Massachusetts, brought an audio perspective. He believes in what he calls a “hybrid model”—traditional radio for older listeners, digital for younger ones, and a written e-newspaper for those who still prefer reading.

Radio suffered during the pandemic, but Coco said WHAV’s audience has bounced back, especially among commuters. More importantly, WHAV broke major local stories long before they made statewide or national headlines—proving that good local journalism often plants the seeds for bigger investigations.

Coco also noted that while underwriting (traditional radio sponsorships) is down, voluntary subscriptions and local listener donations are up, making nonprofit radio more viable than ever.

6. Artificial Intelligence: Tool or Threat?

As AI tools begin to creep into journalism workflows, one person at the earlier session noted a problem facing newsrooms: Newsrooms cuts means there are fewer people around to pay attention. They can’t accurately cover what people in their communities are thinking.

So AI could help newsrooms with fewer staffers keep up, and some panelists described cautious, case-by-case use: transcription, data comparison, even early research.

One outlet used AI to benchmark a town administrator’s salary against other communities—but fact-checked every result. “The hallucinations are real,” said Blander. “You cannot take it at face value.”

Others see AI’s promise in coverage of sprawling public meetings. “A single reporter can’t cover 100 city meetings,” said one digital news editor. “AI transcription and search tools might help us surface what matters most.”

Still, many expressed deep skepticism. “AI lacks institutional memory. It doesn’t understand context, nuance, or the local history that informs every story,” said Coco. “It’s artificial stupidity until proven otherwise.”

And the biggest concern: trust.

“We already struggle to convince readers that we’re fair and accurate,” Blander said. “If AI gets it wrong—and it will—that damages the credibility we work so hard to build.”

7. Reaching Younger Audiences: What Does the Future Look Like?

What happens when an entire generation doesn’t pick up a printed newspaper or watch broadcast news? “Younger people are absolutely consuming news,” said Emack of CambridgeDay.com. “But they’re doing it through podcasts, Instagram, TikTok. I get all my New York Times content through their Instagram stories.”

Others stressed the need for media literacy. “We’re a news household,” Blander said, “and still, my kids say they saw something ‘on TikTok.’ They can’t tell you the original source.”

Panelists agreed that traditional formats will continue to decline, but substance still matters. “I’ve seen short-form dominate, then long-form come back,” said one participant. “Audiences want depth—just delivered differently.”

Building relationships with younger audiences also means showing the process. “Invite people into your newsroom,” Vasallo said. “Explain how decisions get made, how stories are sourced, how editorials are separate from news coverage.”

Another added, “We need to be the place people go when they ask, ‘What was that noise?’ or ‘What happened at that meeting?’ If we can meet that demand quickly and accurately, we build trust.”

8. The Business Model Is the Message

Across the panel, speakers agreed: the biggest question for local journalism isn’t “how do we report news?” but “how do we fund it?”

Some key insights:

• Advertising is not enough, especially with Google and Facebook dominating digital ad markets.
• Mission-driven support works. Nonprofit newsrooms find more success when appealing to values like civic engagement and truth-telling, rather than just selling ad space.
• Events, partnerships, and community involvement help build both revenue and trust.
• Print isn’t dead, but it’s no longer the core product—it’s one piece of a much larger, diversified strategy.

Local journalism is not just about delivering headlines—it’s about being present, responsive, and relevant to the communities being covered. As Tim Coco reminded the audience, “If the content is there, the audience will come.”

The future of journalism may not look like its past—but the mission remains the same: to inform, to investigate, and to serve the public. Whether it’s through partnerships, prudent use of AI, smarter funding models, or community education, local news organizations are experimenting in real time.

The consensus? There’s no single fix—but transparency, creativity, and community connection are the guiding stars.

As one editor put it: “We have to reinvent, or we’ll get left behind.”